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ON RECORD Bandung II to shape a new world order |
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Try British model for expediting
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PROFILE
REFLECTION Diversities
— Delhi Letter KASHMIR DIARY
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HAVING emerged as the “kingmaker” in the Bihar Assembly elections, Union Steel Minister and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan suggests the continuance of President’s Rule in the state, in an exclusive interview to The Sunday Tribune. Mr
Paswan, 59, floated the LJP after severing ties with the Janata Dal. He resigned from the NDA government in April 2002 in protest against the Gujarat riots.
Excerpts: Q: How did the LJP emerge as a key player in the Bihar elections? A: Bihar is my home but I had not contested an Assembly election by forming a party. People wanted that I should form a party. Our performance would have been even better but we were on the same side as the RJD in the last Lok Sabha elections because of the Congress. We lost narrowly in nearly 25 seats. Q: Was it a mistake to go with the RJD in the Lok Sabha elections? A: We had gone with the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls but because the RJD was on the same ship, the people of Bihar had apprehensions during the Assembly polls that we may join hands with Lalu Prasad Yadav after the results were out. Congress president Sonia Gandhi had come to my house in the run-up to the last Lok Sabha elections and the only choice I had was to fight alone or go with the Congress. I did not want to take the risk of going alone thinking that the LJP would be blamed if the BJP returned to power at the Centre. Q: Why can’t the UPA allies join hands to form a government in Bihar? A: The RJD is an ally of the UPA. There are many other partners at the Centre. The AIADMK and the DMK were both partners of the NDA. Q: How far is the LJP responsible for the President’s Rule? A: I had said even before elections that it is the only alternative. I knew that neither my party nor the NDA nor the RJD will get a majority and until two of the three forces joined hands, a government will not be formed. Since the three parties were poles apart, I had said that President’s Rule is the only alternative. Q: How long do you think will it last? A: This will depend on how long the JD (U) stays with the BJP. Till the time it stays with the BJP, my party will not go with it. Q: Did Sonia Gandhi intervene to form a secular government in Bihar in the post-poll scenario? A: No. Q: What about your discussions with Mrs Gandhi? A: I will not disclose it. But neither had I put her in any difficulty over Bihar nor has she put any pressure on me. Mrs Gandhi is the UPA Chairperson and I had told her to keep off the Bihar tangle. Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav wanted the RJD to be invited to form the government. I said that President’s Rule should be imposed as no single party had a clear majority and most parties had given in writing that they were neither with the RJD nor with the BJP. Q: How do you respond to accusations that the LJP has been rigid on government formation in Bihar? A: I am flexible. I am not a candidate for the post of Chief Minister. I said that an MLA from the minority community should be made the CM. I have no objection if a consensus is reached among
non-RJD and non-BJP parties on a name from JD (U) but such a possibility appears remote. That’s why I suggested consensus on a minority candidate so that even the Congress feels we are forming a secular government. Q: Why do you insist on the chief ministerial candidate from the minority community? A: There should be no confusion among our supporters from the minority community. Mr Yadav has only cheated and used the minorities. The minorities do not have even one per cent representation in the jobs in the state. I have urged the Governor to give due representation to the minorities in new recruitments. If our government is formed, we will give the minorities representation in proportion to their population. No person from the Muslim community has been Chief Minister of Bihar for three decades. Q: Between the BJP and the RJD, who is your main opponent? A: In the Lok Sabha elections, I said that the BJP was a wound in the head for the country and the RJD for Bihar. Q: Will you accept the BJP’s outside support to a
non-RJD government? A: All parties except the BJP and the RJD should sit together and take a decision which will be acceptable to the LJP. Parties like the CPI (ML), the CPI, the Samajwadi Party, the NCP besides the JD (U) and the Congress have to decide. Q: How far have you succeeded in meeting your aim of forging Muslim-Dalit combination in Bihar? A: The
Muslim-Dalit factor was responsible for Mr Yadav’s defeat in the polls. I had said my target is long. We could have won over 50 seats but we had shortage of resources. On one side was the state force and on the other were NDA’s resources. We were alone. Also, the people had apprehensions that we may later join hands with the RJD under the Congress pressure. But I am satisfied with our party’s tally. |
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Bandung II to shape a new world order AS the vision of Bandung stirs again this weekend, recalling the efflorescence of Afro-Asian nationalism exactly 50 years ago this week, it is as well not to forget the tragedy that preceded it when Zhou Enlai narrowly escaped death. In those balmy days of Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai, Jawaharlal Nehru courteously sent an Air-India plane, the Princess of Kashmir, to convey the Chinese delegates to the first Afro-Asian conference, as China did not yet have a national airline. Three hours after refuelling at Hongkong’s Kaitak airport, the plane exploded over the ocean, killing every member of the Chinese delegation. Unknown to the world, Zhou was not on the plane because he was delayed in hospital with appendicitis. He then flew secretly to Yangon, and thence by a Dutch KLM aircraft to Singapore for confidential talks with the British high commissioner, Malcolm MacDonald, who was later posted to New Delhi. According to Zhou’s aides, he had got wind that the Guomindang or the CIA would try to bump him off. After all, the Americans had got the British Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden, to ask Nehru not to invite China. The request outraged Nehru who did not consider it for a moment. It could have been an additional reason for the grace and generosity with which he helped Zhou to make a brilliant international debut at Bandung, even to the extent of eclipsing his own performance. That may have been one reason why Bandung I was not an unalloyed success for India. Another was the minor revolt staged by Sir John Kotelavala, the conservative pro-British Prime Minister of what was then Ceylon. Pakistan, too, tried to put a spoke in the wheel with its objection to China. Nevertheless, the 1955 conference set the stage for the non-aligned movement to emerge six years later in Belgrade. It also projected the ancient Hindu and Buddhist concept of Panchseel (Indonesians call it pancasila), the five principles of co-existence, as a viable principle in statecraft. Above all, Bandung warned the world that the impoverished countries of Asia and Africa would not forever be satisfied with crumbs from the high table of the West. Though couched in terms of emotion and sentiment, the conference was an affirmation of the Third World’s demand for political freedom followed by an equitable share of the resources of this earth. No wonder the Western media mocked it as the greatest fancy dress party of all time. It is greatly to the credit of Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that the task of repairing the ravages of nature’s fury – the tsunami followed by a devastating earthquake — has not prevented him from celebrating the 500th anniversary of an epochal event. The shape of the world has changed since 1955; so have many of its preoccupations. Only 29 governments, 23 Asian and six African, were represented at Bandung I; 105 have been invited this time round, though only 49 have accepted at the time of writing. Apartheid South Africa was naturally not invited in 1955; President Tom Mbeki will take a leading part in the deliberations this time. Some concerns remain the same. Nehru worried in 1955 that Arab participation would mean that the Palestine question would dominate the proceedings at the cost of other issues. That vexed problem of race discrimination and political justice in West Asia, compounded by continuing strife in occupied Iraq, is again bound to engage the attention of participants at Bandung II. It is the overall human condition of which the plight of Palestinians and Iraqis is a feature that most excites the nations of Asia and Africa now, as it did 50 years ago. But the participants have acquired greater operational sophistication and it is no accident that the commemorative meeting is being held in the context of global conferences on sustainable development and renewable energy and the G-15’s summit in Caracas. No one speaks nowadays of the North-South divide. But now, even more than then, the impoverishment of more than half the world’s population offers the single most important reason for civil strife, international tension and the nameless spectre of terrorism. Given the underlying economic cause of so many political upsurges, an Afro-Asian gathering would be most useful if it encourages developing countries to enhance strategic cooperation. Bandung II must make an attempt, of course, to ensure that global institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation, as well as transnational corporations that often wield huge political power, specifically address their plight. For all the benefits of inevitable globalisation, the entire world cannot be swept away on a tide of monetarism. But fiery rhetoric berating the Western powers alone will not achieve much. The Third World will have to work with a willing First; it must ensure the cooperation of President George W. Bush and his most fervent neo-conservative supporters. One likely effect of this realisation in Jakarta is that the action might move from the heady eloquence of a central platform that usually basks in the limelight to the anterooms. That is where visiting delegates will make a determined effort to improve national living standards through self-help, promote rational growth-oriented policies and sponsor close economic cooperation within each region. That means that deals and discussions on the sidelines will ultimately matter more than conference agenda and resolutions. Some indications of such unobtrusive diplomacy are already available. Egypt is keen on promoting plans for an Afro-Asian strategic partnership, and vigorous lobbying can be expected to decide on a consensus Asian candidate for the post of United Nations secretary-general. No less ambitiously, South African diplomats, who have developed surprisingly cordial relations with North Korea, will continue to try to persuade the latter’s representatives to return to mainstream diplomacy. |
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Try British
model for expediting justice DELAY
in dispensation of justice has become a major national concern. The Law
Commission and many committees have examined possible resolution of the huge
backlog of cases. But the emphasis is on improving the judge-population ratio
and on strengthening the judicial infrastructure. While there is lot of
concern and some action, the suggested improvements in the delivery system
are at best minimal and cosmetic. There is hardly any attempt to address
the vexed questions of procedural intransigence and vested interests of
stakeholders. The figures of institution, disposal and pendency are available
but there is no exercise to find out the quantum of cases which ought not to
have come before a qualified judge for reasons of time, resources and no
points of law and facts involved. Many cases before the magistrates are ‘routine’
and totally unnecessary. Contrast the scenario with lower courts in the
United Kingdom, not burdened with ‘petty offences’. This huge litigation
space is handled by Justice of Peace, created in 1361. Under the system, a
bench of three lay Magistrates, assisted by a legally qualified clerk of the
court, adjudicates crimes and matters of everyday existence. Magistrates do
not hold a degree in law. But they should possess common sense, personal
integrity; a good knowledge of people and the ability to listen to all sides
of an argument and contribute to fair and reasonable decisions. They are,
however, acquainted with the judicial process and criminal jurisprudence
through a thoughtfully designed training capsule. Magistrates administer
justice on a voluntary basis. Magistrates take part in summary trials,
committal proceedings, and ancillary matters e.g. issuing search and arrest
warrants, bail applications, and youth and family court. They deal with the
less serious criminal cases. The most serious of these carry the maximum
penalty of a Magistrate’s court of fine of 5000 pounds or six months
imprisonment. If they decide a case to be too serious, they will commit the
accused to the Crown Court for trial. Should we not experiment with an institution akin to Justice of Peace, in this country? The system has worked wonders in a country for centuries where standards of judicial administration and compliance with human rights is the best anywhere in the world. In India, selection of lay magistrates can be entrusted to a panel of judicial officers, prominent social workers and academicians. Requirement of at least three laypersons in the Bench will act as a bulwark against discretionary and extraneous factors vitiating the judicial process. Effective training of the lay magistrates and provision of a properly qualified and experience court clerk is indispensable for proper working of these bodies. The writer is Home Secretary, Himachal Pradesh, Shimla |
PROFILE The 53-year-old writer, who shuttles between London and Delhi, does not want to be called a "Pravasi" (NRI). "I don't feel completely pravasi" was his cryptic comment to a query. His well-defined features, a ready smile and brooding eyes instantly impresses a first-time caller. To those, who know this Calcutta-born writer intimately, he is a multi-faceted personality. Another Indian writer in English of standing, Sobha De, has predicted that Seth would one day get the Nobel Prize for literature. Rare are writers like Seth, who is equally proficient writing prose, poetry and travelogue. He has also the distinction of writing the longest single volume novel ever published in English, "A Suitable Boy". Running into 1,349 pages, the novel sold more than one million copies the world over. Seth does not want ever to write such a long fiction. Vikram is now busy writing a double biography which he expects to published by October. Captioned "Two lives", the work is a remarkable story of Seth's great uncle and aunt. His great uncle Shanti left India for medical school in Berlin in the 1930s and lodged with a German Jewish family. In the household was a daughter, Henny, who urged her mother 'not to take the blackie'. But a friendship developed and each managed to leave Germany and found their way to Britain as the Nazis rose to power. Shanti joined the army and lost his right arm at the battle of Monte Cassino, while Henny (whose family were to die in the camps) made a life for herself in her adopted country. After the war they married and lived the emigrant life in North London where Shanti, despite the loss of his arm, became a much-loved dentist. During his own adolescence in England, Vikram lived with Shanti and Henny and came to know and love them deeply. His is the third life in this story of two lives. This is also a book about history, encompassing as it does many of the most significant themes and events in the 20th century, whose currents are reflected in the lives of Shanti, Henny and their family: from the Raj and the Indian freedom movement to the Third Reich, the Holocaust and British postwar. Seth has been often quoted as saying in Hindi "Agar main awara hoon na gaaya hota, to main abhi tak economist rahta" (Had I not become wayward, I would have remained a economist). Few know that he had enrolled himself at Stanford University, intending to earn a Ph.D in Economics but he never completed it. Once he took to writing there was no looking back. He published eight notable works including collection of poetry; the ninth book is on the anvil. Seth's books on poetry include "Mappings", "All You Who Sleep Tonight" and "From Heaven lake" (1983), which discusses a hitchhiking trip through Nepal into India that he undertook while studying in China. Seth was trained in Indian classical music too but when he was writing "A Suitable Boy", he became interested in Western classical singing. |
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REFLECTION WOMEN in police are rescuing family at the cost of their career. Men have surrendered their family to their nawkree (jobs). But then who is running their families? One area of 'nearly' total neglect in Indian Policing across all ranks and formations is the non-recognition of the role wives or families of policemen play. Why is this so? Are they not a constituency by themselves? Do they not play a role in the 'doing' of their husband's duties 24/7? Do they not have any special needs? Has any attempt ever been made to consider doing a need assessment? Has the police service, nay force, ever shown any proportionate sensitivity concerning them? Does any State police have any declared/budgeted or brainstormed plans for the policemen's families? Or is this asking for too much? Ironically, has any attempt ever been made to find out what do these women/families think of their husband's /fathers' service (sorry naukri)? I am personally aware of the state of affairs the wives /families hence raise these questions for a reason. Mostly policemen's homes are woman run as is known. For the police officer is away for long many weeks and months. As fathers they rarely have time to nurture or groom their children. When home they are in desperate need of rest themselves. They are there only physically not mentally. With acquired habits of single 'stag' living, it would not be an error to suspect what kind of habits they may be returning with? What set me on this internal wave length was from what I saw at a garden party organised by Mrs Rohini Anupama Singh, wife of our Chief of Army Staff General J.J. Singh and an interactive session of the Army Wives' Welfare Association. While the party was to celebrate the onset of spring with the wives of army officers at the Army House, the Army Wives' Welfare Association was to do the years' stocktaking of how better could they serve the families of their jawans. What a joy it was to see hundreds of army officers' wives, across ranks, serving or retired, bonding, dressed in a color of harmony pink in the first instance and white and black on the second occasion, singing, dancing, eating, laughing, sharing, and discussing all as one large family. And these are few of the innumerable ways of coming together to serve their thousands and thousands of families in olive greens all year round, in remotest of areas and all corners of the country. When and how often did such events happen in a Director General's or a Police Chief's house? (includes a District Superintendent of Police as well) I wondered while attending both these events! And can it? I asked myself. Will there be a day/s when across all ranks, wives of police officers also assemble or get invited to a Police Chief's house and be looked after with such meticulous care, abundance, love and respect? Based on a sense of internal commitment and genuine concern and care? Yes, it can happen! Only from the day there is a credible and persistent belief in 'Welfare Policing' by successive police leadership. Also perhaps when it becomes a mandatory line item in performance evaluations of the supervisory ranks. This expectation ought and would lead to an integrated welfare budget for policemen's families to ensure all families are covered on need basis not for dependence but 'self help'! Be it schooling for children, housing, vocational training, self-help support groups, adolescent counseling, and may be economic empowerment. All this cannot happen without a strong shift in current attitudes. Be it through hosting of the coming togethers or through an association of wives of police officers sooner or later. But one day! Inshahallah! Jai
Hind. |
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Diversities
— Delhi Letter MUCH before this year's World Dance Day, a full-fledged campaign started to oust Sonal Mansingh, reputed dancer, from her post of Chairperson, Sangeet Natak Akademi. Criticism against her took off almost a year back when the word spread on the so-called circuit here that she has leanings towards a particular political party and that she had used (misused?) her position to muster support for it in the last general elections. More inputs and further criticism against her is continuing, arising from the fact that there are factions amongst the dancers and they aren't too happy with her reported proximity to the who's who in the political set up. Going to the extent of calling her less of an artiste and more into politics and politicians of the day!
More books and
authors I received the other day an extremely well produced, simply written book, titled 'Nanak: The Guru' (Rupa). Written by Mala Dayal, the text is matched by illustrations done by Arpana Caur; and though it is said to be a book for children, it is really interesting to read the simple details from Nanak's life. I wonder why such books are not included in the syllabi. Last week, the Sahitya Akademi had invited bureaucrat-author Upamanyu Chatterjee for their 'Meet the author' evenings. And though such meets don't draw many that evening, the enthusiasm was much evident and there were several who had come to hear him. Author of three novels, 'English August', 'The last Burden' and 'Mammaries Of the Welfare State', he concentrated on his forthcoming one, which is titled, 'Weight Loss' (to be published by Penguin). He read out a huge extract from it, sort of comic coupled with sexual lust and want and further wants. What I found particularly interesting is the way he read out this entire extract. Last week also saw the release of academic Radha Kumar’s book, ‘Making Peace with Partition’ (Penguin). And not a simple release it was, rather matched by a very interesting and lively discussion on the present state of political affairs, vis-a-vis India and Pakistan and Kashmir. The book was released by Vice-Chancellor of the Jamia Millia Islamia University, Professor Mushirul Hasan. Followed by a panel discussion, featuring Professor Hasan, Ajai Shukla (Defence and Security Affairs Correspondent, NDTV), Dr C. Rajamohan (Professor, South Asian Studies, JNU), Siddiq Wahid (Professor, University of Jammu). Most of these talks were along the patterns of softening of borders so that there are more people-to-people contacts. Siddiq Wahid, who hails from Leh, gave us simple examples to bridge the divide of the people of Kashmir with those of Central Asia. He said that the flying time between New Delhi and Srinagar is one hour and five minutes whereas it is about 50 minutes between Srinagar and Samarkand. Samarkand produces so much of fruit, one-third of which gets wasted because of closed borders — 1,00,000 tonnes it consumes, another 100 tonnes is exported and another 100 tonnes just rots. It wouldn’t if only free flow is allowed.
Painting show in
Dharamsala In this backdrop, truly blessed are the artists who live far away from New Delhi's power and glitter circuit. I have the invite for the exhibition of a young Tibetan artist Tenzin Jamyang who also happens to be working in the security office of the Dalai Lama at Dharamsala. This exhibition of his paintings titled 'Mountains of the mind: Journey of a Tibetan artist' took off this Saturday at the India International Centre. Even before the actual viewing of his captures, its two simple lines from this artist are impressive. The two lines are: “the way to use life is to do nothing through acting / the way to use life is to do everything through being.” From whatever one can make out from the brief background to this artist, his life's journey hasn't been too smooth. While completing his 3-year bachelor's degree from Delhi University, he got the opportunity to study diploma in painting from Jamia Millia Islamia University. However, after three months of rigorous classes, he had to leave school owing to some personal reasons. Even in the midst of hurdles, he has continued with his passion. He had participated in two group exhibitions held in Dharamsala during the Miss Tibet contests of 2002 and 2003. He also held a solo exhibition at Dharamsala in February 2004. Now this one at the
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KASHMIR DIARY SO excited have most of us been over President Musharraf's changed stances since Agra that Syed Salahuddin's announcement during the General's visit has gone largely unnoticed. It is the biggest indicator, however, of the change of mood among Kashmiri militants. He stated that he is open to participating in negotiations to settle the Kashmir issue and welcomes the opening of the road across the Line of Control. Now Salahiddin is not only the chief commander of Hizb-ul Mujahideen, he has for more than a decade been the ISI's point man as chairman of the Muzaffarabad-based United Jihad Council. The fact is that he has been chaffing for some time under the ISI's heel. He told a visiting Kashmiri journalist just recently that he had no freedom to make any decision. So he must have been delighted at the chance to back the Pakistani establishment's new line. The fact is that Kashmiri militants have been tired of the obviously pointless bleed-India strategy for some years now. They had made out that the ISI was only using them as cannon fodder and that the tactics of violence were yielding nothing. The turning point, I believe, came after Pakistan withdrew from Kargil under US pressure. The Hizb shoura held a meeting in Muzaffarabad in February 2000, at which they decided to seek a negotiated settlement with India. It took some time for the ISI to respond to the shoura's request for a meeting to discuss this new line of thinking but, when they did respond, they called in only Salahuddin and his deputy, Abdul Majid Dar, for a meeting with the ISI chief and his deputy. By that time, US President Clinton had visited the subcontinent, leaving Pakistan shaken and stirred, and the ISI was in a mood for damage control. They instructed Dar to go to the valley, announce a ceasefire on behalf of Hizb on the basis of three conditions that they were sure India would refuse. Dar, however, made the ceasefire announcement on July 29 that year without those precise conditions and the ISI came down hard on Salahuddin, who was still in Muzaffarabad. He was for a time stripped of the chairmanship of the Jihad Council and one of his two Pajeros was withdrawn. Since there was no other ranking Kashmiris among the militants by then, his status was restored by the time Dar's ceasefire came to naught and he was assassinated near Sopore. However, these past five years must surely have been tough on Salahuddin. He began after all not as a gunman but as a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami and contested the 1987 elections as a Muslim United Front candidate. It must have been painful for him to watch the successful conduct of assembly elections in 2002 and the growing popularity of the Mufti regime since. Like the leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference in Srinagar, he too must have realised that the tide of history has been flowing out underfoot. In fact, a large number of Kashmiri militants were willing to negotiate a settlement even when the stage was being set for the 1996 assembly elections and many of them wanted to participate. It was Ali Shah Geelani's whip hand, backed vigorously by the ISI at that stage, which held them back — with the threat of assassination. Only Babur Badr, who had in the winter of 1990-91 commanded the largest militant outfit in the valley, finally dared get involved - though he had to settle for nomination as an MLC. Since that time, it is Pakistani and other foreign militants that have sustained violence in Kashmir for the most part. Hizb was virtually the only active Kashmiri group and, at least since Kargil, many of its cadre have increasingly felt trapped without options. The government must now formulate a convincing rehabilitation plan that allows those many Kashmiris who have been stuck in Muzafarabad for years now, unwilling to fight but too scared of death to return. Salahuddin may say he wants to talk of geopolitical solutions but rehabilitation of the boys is the nub of the issue in immediate terms. |
Just as even people possessing eyes cannot see things clearly in the night, but they can see their steps well when a light is brought, so also in those having devotion towards Me, the self becomes self-effulgent. — Sri Rama Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. — Jesus Christ Conquer anger by forgiveness, pride by humility, deceit by straight-forwardness and greed by contentment. — Lord Mahavir God is like a hill of sugar. A small ant carries away from it a small grain of sugar, and a bigger one takes from it a considerably larger grain. But in spite of this, the hill remains as large as before. So are the devotees of God. — Sri Ramakrishna By hearing the name of God, truth, contentment and divine wisdom are bestowed. — Guru Nanak Till heaven and earth pass, one jet or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. — Jesus Christ O man, take refuge in God! Take refuge in Him! Then alone Mahamaya will be gracious and clear the way for liberation. — Sarada Devi  |
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PRESENTATION of 'Pravasi Bharatiya Samman' award to Vikram Seth was delayed by four months but the occasion last week to honour this great writer of the present generation was memorable. More important than the belated ceremony was Seth's reaction: "It feels great to get an award from your own country".